LANSING, Mich. — More than $553 million have been allocated to 123 retirement communities in Michigan to help keep money in retirees’ pockets.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says funding was made possible by the Protecting MI Pension Grant.
“After a lifetime of hard work, Michigan seniors deserve to retire with dignity,” says Governor Whitmer. “Today’s Protecting MI Pension Grants will ensure that Michiganders who served our communities as police officers, firefighters, sanitation workers, and in so many other invaluable professions, will receive the stable, secure retirement that they earned.”
The news comes months after the governor signed legislation rolling back the state’s retirement tax.
We’re told the Protecting MI Pension Grant was established to support underfunded systems on the municipal level in Michigan.
“The Protecting MI Pension Grant Program was a real blessing to the City of Benton Harbor and our thanks to the Governor, Treasury, and the Governor’s whole team,” says Benton Harbor City Manager Ellis Mitchell. “As Benton Harbor is a financially distressed city, without this grant, the city would have had to place an additional burden on our citizens that they could not afford or have been years trying to catch up. Thank you again.”
The state says municipalities from every region in Michigan were awarded part of the grant. View the full list of recipients here.
Visit the state of Michigan’s website for more information about the grant program.